Long-Term Survival of Multiple Versus Single Arterial Coronary Bypass Grafting in Elderly Patients

Multiple arterial grafting (MAG) utilizes more than one arterial graft with any additional grafts being saphenous vein grafts (SVG). It remains an infrequently used coronary surgical revascularization technique, especially in elderly patients. Our study aims to evaluate the age-related association with the relative outcomes of multiple versus single arterial grafting (SAG). The Australian and New Zealand national registry was used to identify adult patients undergoing primary isolated CABG with at least two grafts. Exclusion criteria included reoperations, concomitant or previous cardiac surgery, and the absence of arterial grafting. Propensity score matching was used to match patient groups. The primary outcome was all-cause late mortality and the secondary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day hospital readmission. We selected 69,624 eligible patients with a mean (standard deviation) age of 65.0 (10.2) years old. Matching between MAG and SAG generated 16,882 pairs of patients < 70 years old and 10,921 pairs of patients ≥ 70 years old. At a median [interquartile range] follow-up duration of 5.9 [3.2–9.6] years, MAG was associated with significantly reduced mortality compared to SAG (hazard ratio [HR], 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.68–0.78; p < 0.001) in the younger subgroup as well as the elderly subgroup (HR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.79–0.88; p < 0.001). In conclusion, MAG offers a survival benefit over SAG, in both younger and elderly patients.